FACULTY OF EDUCATION AND LANGUAGES

SEMESTER / YEAR : SEPTEMBER 2011 ( SMP MARCH 2011 INTAKE )

COURSE CODE : OUMH 1203 COURSE TITLE : ENGLISH FOR WRITTEN COMMUNICATION

MATRICULATION NO IDENTITY CARD NO. TELEPHONE NO. E-MAIL LEARNING CENTRE

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670419086281001 670419-08-6281 012-3723597 teoh.thiamguan@gmail.com OUM PETALING JAYA

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Cyber Crimes In Malaysia and U.S.A What Should We Do In Malaysia ? Introduction What is cyber crime? One look, many would not feel like reading into this as the more unfamiliar the definition is to us, the more we would be like to avoid this. However, by understanding the term and the impact it will bring to us, continue reading it. You will never know, we might even be one of the offenders in cyber crimes. Cyber is activity involving, using or relating to computers or internet whereas crime means illegal or actions that are against the law. These meanings are from the Dictionary of Cambridge. If we put these words together, it is a term that means any sort of illegal activity that uses a computer or the internet as its main commission. The scope for this term is vast as the world of technology is expanding rapidly. It includes the least heavy crimes that most of us do not think it is considered as illegal such as downloading illegal music files and movies to the heavy stuff such as stealing millions of dollars from online banking. Offenses non monetary would also cover creating and spreading viruses on other net or even giving out business information that is considered as private and confidential. The most prominent and often done in cyber crime would be identity theft in which the netizens are lured into websites that require their personal identification and other information to be filled in and thus giving the culprits chances to steal the netizens identity and use it for other purposes. There are thousands of crimes that can be committed through the touch of a finger in the world of cyber. The above information is taken from www.techterms.com/ definition/ cybercrime. Although the crimes mentioned above are illegal, there is still controversy surrounding the act such as file sharing which according to the U.S Digital Media Copyright Act 1998 is punishable by law. However, as Gary Shapiro the president of the Consumer Electronics Association has said, If we have 70 million people in the U.S who are breaking the law, we have a big issue. How do we account for this if people are doing this without knowing it is illegal to do so. There is a saying that I read while I was in the facebook community. It says, To take from one source, it is called copying but to take from various sources, it is called researching. When I read this, I thought well that is 2

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justifying to what everyone is doing, so it is not a big deal, right? Well, just read on and see if we are doing it right by the book. The most interesting scope of cyber crimes that interest me the most is illegal downloading of music and movies as it seems to be very common in our age. You have to admit that music and movie compact disc selling at RM6 per piece is a steal compared to the original and yet it works the same. Content Classification of Cyber crimes There are four types of cyber crimes. It can be classify as crime against individual, individual property, organization and society. The crime carried out against individual such as harassment through e-mails, cyber-stalking, broadcasting of obscene material, hacking and defamation. On Individual property, we have computer damage, cracking of personal code, unauthorized control over the system and virus downloading. In a larger manner, against organization such as government, companies, firms and group of individuals are crimes like hacking or cracking, possession of unauthorized information, cyber terrorism and distribution of pirated software or patent. The largest attack of course are cyber crime against the society such as pornography including child pornograph and polluting youth through incident exposure. Crime on individual like harassment through e-mails is not new. It is very much the same as blackmailing, threatening, discriminating and cheating through electronic device. The main problem is identifying the culprits as these were posted through fake ids. Cyberstalking is very contemporary. It involves following a person across the internet by messaging on boards frequented by the target, entering their chat rooms and constantly flooding them with e-mails. The targets usually are women and vulnerable children. They are relatively new to the system and inexperienced on method of protecting oneself. Cyber stalking are on the rise in Malaysia. In 2009, a number of 151 incidents compared to 72 in 2008.The figure is not accurate as it might be higher as some cases were not reported. In Malaysia, the issue of cyber stalking is managed by Communications and Multimedia Act 1998. The accused may be liable for a fine not exceeding fifty thousand ringgit or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year or both and shall be liable to a 3

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further fine of one thousand ringgit for everyday or part of a day during which the offence is carried out even after conviction. The purposes of hacking are mainly about power and publicity. They usually hacked prominent and well known websites to make them famous and sensational especially if it is made known in the mass media. Hacking in 2011, according to Malaysia Computer Emergency Response Team Cyber 999, there is a total of 2342 intrusion and 525 attempted intrusion recorded from January to September 2011. Broadcasting of obscene material is almost the same as cyber pornography which is a threat to the female community. It include pornographic websites, e-magazines, downloading and transmitting pornographic materials. It can be produced in forms like hard disks, floppy disks, flash drive, pen-drive and CD roms. Materials include photographs, images, videos and movies are readily available. Cyber terrorism is using the internet as an attacker in terrorist activities. A narrow definition means it only includes attacks that threaten property or lives whereas a broad definition would means attacks on Internet business as well. Cyber terrorism comes in four forms. The first is privacy violation which protects the online privacy of the citizens. The second would be on secret details and stolen data of individuals, government and its sectors. The third is on network damage and disruption which means tampering, viruses and hacking. The last is the method of infecting, taking control and manipulating the computer data. The theft of software through illegal copying of genuine programs, counterfeiting and distribution of these products as genuine is considered as pirated software Distribution of pirated software and patents increases due to the fact that there is a rise in internet and broadband penetration. Malaysia has almost 17 million internet users by mid 2009 and nearly 60% internet penetration. Faster and cheaper broadband services in 2011 only made it worst. The government acts quickly upon receiving complaints by shutting down websites hosting illegal content but there are so many pirated products that it is very hard to manage all. For example, movies shown in Cineplex would quickly be recorded by highly trained camcorder pirates, unauthorized use of copyright materials at internet cafes sprouting out like mushrooms on a rainy day and even books piracy. As in 2010, MDTCC carried out raids on 5 shops near University 4

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Putra Malaysia and seized several photocopiers and hundreds of books. Questions have popped up as whether legitimate books given to students as masters are included to seizure. In another development, in December 2010, a merchant was charged with having 6500 copies of pirated music recordings 2 year ago was found guilty and faced a 13 million fine or a two year- imprisonment. The case is still pending upon appeal to a higher court.

Comparison of cyber crimes in Malaysia and USA Lets look at the cyber crimes happening in our homeland first. The first case involves cyber harassment. ASP Mahfuz Abdullah Majid from the police Technology Crime Investigation Unit confirmed that bullying cases he has seen 20 years ago has now taken a new form. Online harassment in which vulgar and criminal nature statement was posted in the online community forum of a co ed secondary school in Kuala Lumpur. It appeared that it was an intention to ruin a prefect who was strict and has made some unruly remarks on some students. It was entitled Who Do You Hate? The prefect put up a brave front and thanks to her parents who tracked down the culprits and set up a meeting with the parents of the culprits to sort out the matter. The prefects father is reluctant to make a report for fear it will damage the future of the culprits. Thus, the crime goes unpunished. In actual, they can be brought down under the Computer Crimes Act, the Penal Code or the Juvenile Act depending on the situations. Under Computer Crimes Act 1997, Section 3 If found guilty, one can be fined not more than RM50,000 or 5 years prison term or Section 4 unauthorised access of computer materials with intent to commit or facilitate an offence can be fined not more than RM150,000 or not more than ten years of prison if convicted. Neither the police nor MyCert has received any reports of this. This was 7 years ago. According to MyCert 2011, a total of 354 cases were recorded from January to September this year. It shows that our community is getting ahead and brave enough to report such cases. A look in the same crime in USA, a San Diego college student make five female university students miserable and terrifying by giving out violent and threatening e-mails to them. The student admitted guilty and now faces a 6 years imprisonment if convicted. He admitted the crime because he thought the students 5

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were intimidating and ridiculing him but the fact was they never met him before. This is one example where mental breakdown might be the cause as the student himself was an honour student. The difference I can conclude from this is in Malaysia, harassment usually builds up as more and more of the people contribute to making rude and vicious remarks while in the USA, one has the capability alone to cause this much problem without inviting a forum. The second case is on counterfeit goods. Malaysia has counterfeit market valued at RM 378 million with software dominating RM 289 million of that value. This is from Havocscope Global market indeks in 2007. The Malaysian software industry suffered loss of RM311 million to this pirated software according 2007 Global Software Piracy Study. The Minister of Trade and Consumer Affair carried out raids successfully and discovered counterfeits rings. IP specialist, Patrick Miranda suggests that officers involved has no or lack the experience to identify the counterfeit and the genuine and goes on to promote that intellectual property owners need to involve themselves and monitor closely together with the Ministry to curb the crimes and bring the culprits to the law. Counterfeit software trade especially in the capital of Malaysia is thriving and becomes a norm until it is very hard to differentiate the genuine and bogus goods. This is sold in the open , in places like the markets or even big malls and plazas. In 2007, canines uncovered more than a million counterfeit discs worth more than 3 million hidden in boxes of a store in a mall. These cd and dvd market is very vast and cost RM5 to RM8 compared with an original which cost between RM29.90 to RM45.90.Counterfeiting of drugs is also a big issue in Malaysia as it bring health issues to the citizens therefore it is taken very seriously by the Malaysian Ministry Of Health. One of the way to combat this is the introduction of the Meditag in 2005. The consumers were also warned from time to time as these counterfeits medicines appeared. Market supervision is also carried out in pharmacies and drug selling shops to ensure these counterfeits do not have a chance to be sold out to consumers. New bills have been tabled in the Parliament to enforce tighter rules of import goods and impose heavier fines and mandatory prison sentences. In the USA , a federal judge sentenced a defendant to a 48 month prison for recording movies and distributing pirated DVD in his store. A 37 month prison term is also imposed on a defendant for selling counterfeit goods in Iowa. The private sector in USA has 6

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volunteered to combat illegal online pharmacies in which members of Mastercard, American Express. Microsoft, Yahoo have teamed up to form a non profit organization to take appropriate steps against these illegal pharmacies. It is most welcome if it works the same as in Malaysia but so far no news yet on this type of partnership. The USA even launched a campaign to act against these counterfeit medicines. The USA has partnered with many countries like China, Russia, Eastern Europe and Guatemala to solve the problems on hand but compared to Malaysia, this type of partnership has yet to be initiated. A recent case made aware on the 6th of November, 2011 in the Star Paper brought my attention to a hacking case in which a Malaysian, Lin Mun Poo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for hacking into the US Federal Reserve and many other banks in the US. Lins crime was intensified as he hacked into a computer system of a Pentagon contractor for military transport and other operations. ( Kaos Jr. ,2011 ) This shows that our Malaysian has the ability and the capability as the American in committing these cyber crimes which also takes us to the question, where is our youth headed to. The 10 years sentence is stiff because the US wants to send a message through which is do not mess with national security and do not attempt to conduct their so called business in the US. Will our Malaysian government follows suit in giving heavier sentences as in this case if the situation is reversed. That will be answered in maybe a couple of months or years, maybe ? Suggestions Most of us use computer as a method of gaining knowledge, making our lives easier using the facilities offered by the websites and also as entertainment. We do not realize that by switching on a computer, we are inviting many types of vices around us. If we subscribe to an online banking, we should be aware that our information is in the open, therefore it is very important that we realized the risk factors and make sure we use a firewall to safe guard our information. Our password should be different in every web that we subscribe and should include upper and lower cases letters. Do not open any e mail attachment unless you are familiar with the source. In social network like facebook and friendster, do not relate too much of yourself to others. Remember that we cant judge a book by its cover. We cant even judge others if you havent even seen that 7

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someone yet. Photos can be taken from other and do not reveal one self. Inform your children and the younger generation on these. Make a family rule not to disclose home address and telephone numbers while surfing the net. Give them sufficient information to equip themselves with these crimes and not to fall into one. Turn off computers and disconnect from the network when not using. This will ward off intruders. Keep a copy of your data or information so you will not lose any information if viruses attack your computer. On the part of the government, frequent raids should be conducted on a regular basic. Officials in charge should have the knowledge to be able to identify counterfeit and pirated goods. Partnership with the private sector should be forged to strengthen the cyber crimes law enforcement. A cyber court as suggested by the former Energy, Water and Communication Minister, Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor should be implemented. Heavy penalty to the offenders is another way to lesser the crime rate. The consumers should be educated from young to identify, avoid and realize the severity of cyber crimes. Conclusion We cannot deny the fact that as the world is progressing, cyber crimes will also present in the society. There are of course ways of curbing these but we have to start from the roots. As I have suggested earlier, we should always aim out objectives from the young. If the future generation is educated on this part , they will know what are cyber crimes and will be less interested in starting one. It is sad to know that the computer that is suppose to lesser our workload has been misused in illegal operations. Taking others advantage to gain monetary benefits and satisfy oneself are not we as human should do. Necessity is the mother of all invention. We might need to be entertained but if the sort of entertainment that we enjoy means making someone else miserable would not be the case. This is better explained in pirated goods such as movies, shows, books or even pornography as the victims , the movie makers, the authors suffer loss on their parts. If there is no demand, there will be no production. In the USA the population and its areas are bigger and larger therefore their law on cyber crimes is heavy and more organized. The people of the USA are more educated on this part and they are not afraid to speak up. This is different from other country compared to the population and areas. We are more confined and as Asian, we are tied to our religion beliefs in which we do not always 8

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speak aloud of our plights. We should all work together, people and government if we want to make our country a better place to live in. We will embrace modernization and equip ourselves with knowledge to overcome any obstacles along the way as cyber crimes go hand in hand with modernization.

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ATTACHMENT

References: 1. Cybercrime. (n.d.) . Retrieved October 16 , 2011 , www.techterms.com/definition/cybercrime 2. Cybercrime. (n.d.) . Retrieved October 16 , 2011 , searchsecurity.techtarget.com/definition/cybercrime 3. Cyberterrorism . ( n.d.). Retrieved October 16 , 2011 , www.en.wikipedia.org.wiki/cyberterrorism 4. Scam Fraud Alert Blog. (n.d.). Retrieved October 16 , 2011 , from from from from

Scamfraudalert.worldpress.com/2010/03/13/fbi_2009_cybercrime_statistics 5. Is Cybersecurity Malaysia An Enforcement Agency ? . (n.d.) . Retrieved October 16 , 2011 , from www.cybersecurity.my/en/media-centre/media- faqs/main/detail/index.html 6. Malaysias new wildlife law used to tackle cybercrime . ( n.d.) . 16 , 2011 , from Retrieved October

www.traffic.org/home/2011/1/12malaysias_new_wildlife_law_used 7. Malaysian Law and Computer Crime . (n.d.). Retrieved October 25 , 2011 , from

www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/legal/Malaysian-law-computer-crime-670 8. What is cybercrime ? . ( n.d.) . Retrieved indiacyberlab.in/ cybercrimes/general.htm 9. Incident Statistics . (n.d.). Retrieved October 25 , 2011 , from October 25 , 2011 , from

www.mycert.org/en/services/statistic/mycert/2011/main/detail/795/index.html 10

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10. Anandarajah , ( September 30 , 2004 ) Cover story / Cyber bully . Retrieved October 25 , 2011 , from www.cybersecurity.my/en/media-centre/media- faqs/main/detail/index.html 11. Malay for counterfeit , artificial , fake Tiruan . (n.d.) . 2011 , from www.notofakes.com Retrieved October 25 ,

12. IIPA 2011 Special 301 Report On Copyright protection and Enforcement . ( n.d.) . Retrieved October 25 , 2011 , from www.iipa.com/rbc/2011/2011spec 30/malaysia.pdf 13. Gordon , Ford , ( July 25 , 2006 ) . On the definition and classification of Cybercrime . Retrieved classification.pdf. 14. Intellectual Property Spotlight . ( n.d. ) . www.justice.gov/criminal/cybercrime 15. Kaos.Jr. , ( 6 November 2011). Malaysian Hacker Jailed In US. Sunday Star, P19083 , 3 16. Assoc Prof Dr Alias Mohd Yatim , Assoc Prof Hazidi Abdul Hamid , Mohd Helmi Abdul Rahim & Teo Hui Thian , ( 2010 ) OUMH1203 English for Written Communication ( First Edition ) , Meteor Doc. Sdn . Bhd. Retrieved October 25 , 2011 , from October 25 , 2011 , from profs.sci.univr.it/giaco/download/watermaking-obfuscation/cybercrime% 20

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